Obstacles
by Pickle Daisy
Summary: Kronos is attacking. Again. Poseidon is an overprotective parent and wants Percy safe. So, his men try to take him away. Annabeth needs to get to him, but she meets obstacles on the way. She runs into somebody that makes her choice just that much harder.


**Here, this is a one-shot, and hopefully, a successful one though! Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please PLEAAAASSE R&R! Oh, and go with it. I know Luke/Kronos died at the end of TLO. So, go with me!**

On the night of May thirtieth, 2010, at precisely 9:23 PM, Kronos attacked.

Again.

But this time, at Camp Half-Blood, with twice as many warriors. He had brought four thousand or so monsters from all different species along, probably just to show how much he wanted to capture, and most likely kill the one and only Seaweed Brain. Three rows of each kind of monster I've ever heard of, read about, or seen, plus more stood before me. But, apparently Poseidon is an overprotective parent, and was trying to get Percy to a safe place. Some men with scaly skin and legs that looked like water who were working for the sea god had Percy by the arms, struggling to get his writhing and kicking body to a sea blue helicopter. He was shouting things, but my ears were not hearing it. Everything was silent, like in the movies when something was happening in slow-motion. They were dragging him, and I read his lips to be saying, "_No!" _Over and over.

Thalia and Nico had me by my arms as well. They were struggling to keep me away from Percy, in order to allow him to be taken away. Campers rushed past me, carrying every weapon available. These included spears, knives, daggers, bows and arrows, swords, maces, and I even saw some pepper spray carried by Katie Gardner.

Anyway, Thalia was holding me back desperately, trying to get me to calm down. I now heard everything as if Thalia were whispering to me in the middle of a Jonas Brothers concert. Not that I like the Jonas Brothers, it's just to show an example. So basically I could just make out the words, if I strained my ears.

"Annabeth!" Thalia said through gritted teeth. "Calm down. You've got to let him go! If Kronos gets him, you'll have no chance whatsoever of saving him."

She had a point, but no _way _was I giving up that easily.

"You don't get it Thalia, I," I paused and took a deep breath. "I like him, a lot. Not even like, I mean, you know..."

"You think you _love _him?" Thalia growled.

I nodded.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry, but I can't let you risk yourself, or Percy, for a crush. And yes, it's a crush. Just watch, in a year or so, you're going to totally hate his guts. You're gonna think to yourself, 'ew, why did I ever like him?' Annabeth, I'm sorry, but you just don't love him."

"Since when did a Hunter ever know what a crush was?" I snarled. "You'll never know what love really is."

Her face twisted into an expression mixed with hurt and anger.

"How do you know? Maybe I _did _like someone. Since when do you decide what I know and don't know?"

"Back at 'cha."

Her eyes narrowed. To my extreme surprise, she let go of my arm.

"Fine. Go. Go save the person you _love._ But watch, a few months from now, he's going to break your heart. After all you've done for him."

Her furious blue eyes told me she wasn't only talking about me. Her hands fell to her sides.

"Go." She said quietly. "But Annabeth, it's him or me."

"What?" I asked, glancing back at Percy, who was struggling against the men. They were a few yards from the helicopter. He went in and out of my vision because of the enemies and the campers.

"It's either him or me, Annabeth. You either have a friend that will last, or a boy who fades."

I bit my lip. I took another glance Percy, and then back at Thalia. I turned my back on her.

"I'm sorry Thalia. I just... I just can't let him go."

Her facial expression fell into partially concealed sadness.

"Then go. You have about ten seconds 'till they get him in the copter." She said, even more quietly then before. I hugged her, but she was limp, and she pushed me away.

"I'm sorry." I whispered so softly I don't even know if she heard me.

"Just... Just go."

I tasted blood in my mouth from biting my lip so hard. I let go. I turned around to face Nico. He was blurred by my tears. He shrugged, and also let go.

"Annabeth, listen. If you get him, do me a favor and don't let him stay. Go with him or say good-bye, but don't let him stay."

"I don't know if I'll even make it to him in time."

"Then you better hurry." He said, and pushed me softly. Before I ran off, I whispered into his ear, "Tell Thalia I'm really, really sorry, and that she was the best friend I ever had."

"Will do." He replied solemnly.

But I was already gone.

I sprinted in between campers and enemies alike, slashing out with my knife to anyone who got in my way, either friend or foe. Then, the worst possible thing happened to me. Someone stepped in my way.

But thats not all.

The person in front of me was Kronos, the titan of time and space. Also known as the filthy traitor that betrayed us all, Luke.

But his glowing eyes weren't golden.

They were a startling blue.

He grabbed my shoulders.

"Annabeth, please forgive me." The one and only Luke Castellan begged. His brilliant blue eyes were fading to gold, then jumping back to blue. I knew he had saved his energy for a long time to tell me this.

"Why should I?" I said nastily. "Luke, you almost killed Percy, me, and everyone in this camp several times."

"I know, and I'm really, _really _sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it here." I snapped.

His eyes flicked to gold for a solid three seconds before returning to their stunning blue.

"Annabeth, please. It's my last wish, then you can kill me, punish me, or do anything. Just please, _please _forgive me. I really need this." Luke pleaded.

"Luke, get this past your thick skull. I will never. _Ever. _Forgive you."

His hands fell from my shoulders to his sides in defeat.

"I understand." He said softly. I could barely hear him on top of all the noise. "Annabeth..."

Then, a couple of things happened. Luke placed his arms around me and kissed me. I was too stunned to pull away. I heard Percy shout something, and my open eyes darted to the copter. He was limp, staring at me. His gorgeous green eyes were dull with defeat. His feet dragged in the grass. The men were dragging him to the helicopter, and he was putting up no fight whatsoever. He was staring at me, his eyes wide with disbelief and a look that haunted me for those two weeks that he was gone at Calypso's Island.

The look that you know that the one thing in your life has gone forever, and that it's not coming back. The look that basically means your life is over.

That look gave me strength, and I pushed Luke away with all my might. He tried to hold me on for a bit longer, but finally he let go. Then, we shared a look that had so much meaning in it that it's physically impossible to put into words. A look that said, I'm sorry, I love you, I hate you, and yet so much more. Then, naturally, I gave him the finger. I tore my gaze away from him and back toward the person who I was fighting to get to in the first place. He was being lifted into the chopper and his eyes looked at me with so much despair, that my knees were about to buckle, and the tears were now flowing freely down my face.

But I kept going. I stumbled toward the machine, with its rotor blades beating overhead, and the doors about to close. I broke into a run, despite the feeling in my heart that my life was going to end, and my knees were going to give out on me. It lifted off the ground, three inches, then three feet, and I jumped. My hands scraped the landing skids and managed to find a grip. The ground was speeding away from me now, and I began to feel lightheaded. My palms had started to sweat with nervousness as I saw Thalia, Nico, Chiron, and Luke/Kronos staring up at me. I pulled my other, sweaty hand up to the landing skids and hung on for my life.

"Help!" I shrieked.

I looked down at was probably going to be the last look at Camp Half-Blood I would ever see, because my hands were slipping and I couldn't hold on much longer. Soon I'd be nothing but a splat on the ground. One hand fell. Then, the other began to slip. My pinky, my middle finger. I was holding on with three fingers. Just as they fell away too, a strong and firm hand grabbed my wrist. I looked up from the ground and saw the face that had saved me.

He had black hair.

With green eyes that still looked dead.

"Percy!" I gasped. My hair was being whipped around in all directions. I couldn't believe my eyes.

He remained silent. His hair was being blown everywhere by the wind.

Wow. I was about to die if he didn't pull me up, and I was thinking about _hair?_

Stupid ADHD.

"Um," I shouted over the beating of the rotor blades. "It would help if you pulled me up."

His eyes remained dead as he did so. I sat, gasping from the sudden lack of adrenaline, and I heard him speak quietly.

"Why did you kiss him?" He asked. I looked at him.

"Do I really need to talk about this right now?" I asked. "I pretty much just had two heart attacks trying to get to you."

He brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, we do."

"Look, Percy. Lets just say that I got rid of my friendship with Thalia, was forced to kiss Luke, yes, it was him, his eyes were blue and he was fighting to stay in control, after he begged me to forgive him, and told him to try and get through his thick skull that I would never do that. Just to get to you. Does that explain it?"

"Not really." He said. "Wait, you and Thalia aren't friends anymore?"

"No. She told me it was you or her. I chose you."

He looked at me without saying anything.

"I thought you left me for him." He muttered. "I thought even though all we've been through, you and him have been through more. I thought you were going to choose him. I thought I lost you, Annabeth."

I looked at him.

"You really thought that?"

He nodded glumly.

"You really _are _a Seaweed Brain." I told him. "I'd never leave you Percy! You're you. And that's all I need. Luke and I... Well... Percy, lets just say this. I gave the Titan of time and space the finger before I came running to you."

The light and life began to seep back into his eyes. "You what?"

"You see? I'll never leave you Seaweed Brain. And that's a promise."

And then, we shared a kiss that even Aphrodite would be proud of.

**THE END.**

**Haha, like it? I sure did. Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEAAAASSSEEEEE R&R! You get a cookie if you do. Flames accepted. And expected. Now please, give me constructive criticism for what I need to work on. Don't tell me, "Oh your story sucks." And leave it at that. Tell me **_**why **_**it sucks. Grammar? Spelling? Plot? Yeah, I'll admit the plot wasn't all that good, but I really needed to write a One-shot. And a Percabeth fic. So, please R&R!**


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